St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-05-19
may know the truth of the Lovers

the fairest flower of the prairie. Many
of the Dakota braves loved the pretty
little squaw, and SO did one pale face
trader called SecO, who had trading
post two rifle shots below the bluff
The trader offered the chief much
money and beads for Winona, and the
chief said the squaw should go to the
tepee of SecO and be his.
"WinOna hated the trader and loved
a young Chippewa brave named Little
Coon, and she said in her heart if she
could not go in peace with the Chip
pewa she would go to her death.
"Just at that time the DakOtas and
Chippewas went to war, and it was nc
longer safe for Little Coon to visit the
home of Winona. He could not stay
away from the pretty squaw, SO he
went down the Pepin Lake in canoe
covered with a tree top and by the
shadows of the night.
"WinOna answered Little COOn's call
when he cried out like the little duck.
"One night she told her lover that
the chief had sold her to the Prairie
Chicken or SecO, the trader, and that
her father had said on the next night
she must go to the tepee of the pale
face to be his squaw. She mOaned
pitifully, and said she would throw
herself to death from the high bluff
before she would go to the trader.
"Little Coon asked her to flee with
him, but she said no, for then both
herself and lover would be trailed to
certain death, for the Dakota warriors
hated the Chippewa braves.
"They talked long and laid plan to
deceive the chief and her people.
"Little Coon hid himself near the
bluff all the next day. When night
came the chief took WinOna to the
traders post and left her there. The
sauaw was sad, but said not word to
Seco. She sat and gazed at the stars
for long time. SecO talked to her
like the cooing of a dove, but his words
touched not her heart.
"Then she arose and ran towards
the high hill. The trader was afraid
he would lose her, for she had told
that she would rather die than be his
squaw, and he ran after her, but it was
like the turtle after the gazelle.
"Winona went with quick feet to
the top of the bluff, and SecO called
ont like the wildcat, and the Dakota
chief and braves, who were camped up
there, heard him.
"They ran quick.
"Winona heard them and went to
the very brink chanting the death
song. She bowed herself to the earth,
wrapped her blanket about her breast,
and with wild cry sprang out into
the dark air of the night.
"The braves drew near the place
where the young squaw had stood, and
they heard the sound of a heavy fall.
"They looked down into the black
ness, but could see nothing four trees
deep, but the splash of water was
heard, and they knew WinOna was no
more. They went with quick feet to
the Pepin Lake, but the moving water
had carried the dead squaw away for
ever, they said, and they turned sadly
back to their lodges"
"And they never found the body of
the girl 2" | asked.
The white haired old warrior shook
his head.
"They did not find the body because
it was not left beneath the high hill,
and it never went down into the lake"
"The lover carried it away" sug-
gested, new thought entering my
head, instantly.
at went away with Little Coon, but
he did not carry it. Winona was not
killed."
The idea was absurd. A human be
ing could not descend, under full pow
er of gravitation, hundreds of feet, and
amid broken rocks, without causing
instant death. The red hermit divin-
ed my thoughts, and he said:
fk t,Nl1 fIot hn
planned to deceive the DakOtas, and
they did.
"WinOna secreted a long, rawhide
rope under her shawl and dropped it
where her lover was secreted without
stopping to speak, as had been plan
ned
"When darkness came Little Coon
went to the top of the bluff and max
ing a moose on one end of the long
rope, he laid the circle at the edge of
the rock, put the thong around the
projecting point of stone, and lowered
the end to the earth below, and then
went down to await the coming of
WinOna.
"When he heard the death song
from the young squaw's lips, he grasp
ed the rope firmly.
"WinOna wound her shawl about
her breast and then put the moose
around her body under her arms, and
was ready for the leap.
ga wild cry rang out, and Little
Coon, who was a very stout young
brave, held tightly and let the little
squaw down.
"At the same time he pushed with
his foot large, round stone from its
resting place, and it went splashing
into the waters of Lake Pepin. AS
soon as WinOna touched earth she and
her Chippewa lover ran to the water
where the canoe of Little Coon was
lying, and they padded away. The
long rope was taken with them. They
swept quickly up the smooth surface
of the pretty Pepin, and when the
light came they were hidden in a thick
ut where Little Coon had left some
food.
"When the sun went down again
they hurried away from the big river
to the east, and when light came they
hid again.
"After long journey they came to
another river, and when this was
crossed they were in Canada. Here |
hey lived with new names, and be- |
came friends of the whites, and no one
knew the truth. The DakOtas knew
hat Winona was dead, and the Chip
Dewas thought Little Coon killed at
The hands of the enemies. | have
heard the story many times"
"And did they ever return to the
2" asked.
"NO, they never went back to their
people, and their people never knew
hey lived"
"Where did WinOna dwell 7"
"The pretty squaw and Little Coon
ived eighty years together in this
rand forest. They led the free life of